Canadian and Portuguese youth aged 18 to 35 will now have the opportunity to travel and work in Portugal and Canada under the International Experience Canada (IEC) program.
In early May, Minister Hussen and Jose Luis, Secretary of State of Portuguese Communities Abroad, signed a bilateral Youth Mobility Arrangement between Canada and Portugal, which will allow Canadian and Portuguese youth to work and travel under the Working Holiday, International Co-op and Young Professional streams of the IEC program. Canadian and Portuguese youth can take advantage of the opportunity with the launch of the 2019 IEC season which will begin in late 2018.
There are three categories of participation under the program:
- Working Holiday participants receive open work permits that allow them to work anywhere in the host country to support their travels
- International Co-op Participants receive employer specific work permits that allow students to gain targeted experience in their field of study; and
- Young Professional participants receive an employer specific work permit to gain targeted, professional work experience that is within their field of study or career path.
The addition of Portugal adds one more destination to the current 33 partner countries and territories from which young Canadians can obtain international experience. As well, this provides the opportunity for Portuguese youth to come live and work in Canada.
For more information on the International Experience Canada Program, please click the link here: https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/canadians/international-experience-canada.html
